OTTAWA, March 18, 2014 /CNW/ - Canadian dairy farmers are focused on continuing to grow their operations while serving Canadian consumers an increasing variety of safe, high quality, nutritional products, says David Wiens, Vice-President at Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC).
This week, the Conference Board of Canada is holding its Food Summit where it will promote its report that urges reform for dairy supply management system.
"We have farmers of various sizes, says Wiens. We have small, artisan cheese makers and large multinational processors. We share a common goal of providing great local milk and dairy products to Canadian consumers, while sustaining over 218,000 jobs and benefiting the economy of hundreds of communities across the country."
The Conference Board claims the system costs Canadians money. "Those who claim the system costs Canadian families, do so from theoretical models, and not from observing actual retail prices around the world. They clearly don't live in agricultural communities and understand the impact of dairy farming on the Canadian economy," Wiens says.
"Supply management allows the Canadian industry to sustain itself and reinvest in operations to steadily improve productivity and efficiency," adds Wiens. "The industry continues to take advantage of opportunities to offer new products and dairy ingredients while the focus remains on offering Canadians a consistent milk supply and increasing diversity of high quality dairy products that are locally and sustainably produced."
The focus on key growth areas works. In fact, EcoRessources found that the dairy industry has recently created more than 3,000 jobs within two years, while the most aggressive growth forecast of the Conference Board would only create just 8,500 over 10 years. The math is clear.
In recent years, Canadian consumers have been able to see new cheeses on the market. For example, cheese with grilling properties is an emerging trend that plays to Canada's ethnic diversity, and yogurt varieties have diversified and grown: +15%/year for Greek yogurt. Strong investments by dairy farmers are helping sales of these new innovative products.
Finally, the Conference Board recommendation to grow the industry through exports, with the risks this move carries, goes counter to the advice of the Conference Board itself, which only in February 2014, warned Canadian business that "The actual experience of Canadian small and medium-sized businesses suggests that while fast-growth markets offer tremendous rewards, they can be extremely challenging and risky."
Other agricultural and business experts, who understand the value of supply management, continue to advocate for changes that will keep the system viable. Indeed, supply management is not stagnant; it has changed tremendously over the years in pursuit of delivering its core objectives, and DFC is committed to continue driving that change.
Image with caption: "The Canadian dairy industry seizing opportunities result in real growth and real value in the Canadian economy (CNW Group/Dairy Farmers of Canada (Corporate))". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20140318_C5736_PHOTO_EN_38078.jpg
SOURCE: Dairy Farmers of Canada (Corporate)
Thérèse Beaulieu
Assistant Director, Strategic Communications
613-236-9997 x 2751
C : 613-371-5023
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